Long before Sergio Leone’sDollars Trilogy, before Clint Eastwood had even had a starring role in a Western, in fact, there wasHave Gun – Will Travel. This heavily stylized, highly unorthodoxWestern TV showdebuted on CBS in September 1957, introducing the world to one of the Western genre’s first true anti-heroes.
As a small-screen protagonist of the genre, the enigmatic mercenary Paladin was truly one of a kind. Played by iconicWestern TV actorRichard Boone, the character was at once much more sophisticated and far more terrifying than the average Western screen heroaudiences at the time were used to seeing.
What’s more, Paladin’s distinctly unconventional appearance, steely-eyed glare, and merciless sharpshootingmade him the blueprint for a whole new kind of cowboyin Western movies during the 1960s. Perhaps Boone’s character didn’t invent the anti-hero, but he had an undeniable impact on the likes of Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name.
Have Gun – Will Travel’s Paladin Was The Most Iconic Western Anti-Hero Of His Day
His Sophistication & Strong Sense Of Justice Complicated His Mission
Disguising his true identity under a curious mononym taken from the name of a medieval knight,Paladin wasarguably the greatest Western TV character of his day. Like many heroes of the genre, he was a veteran of the American Civil War, but that part of his background was where the similarities to other characters ended.
Paladin was a cultured intellectual as well as a ruthless gunslingerwho enjoyed fine wine, playing the piano, and games of chess. He had his black suits tailor-made and was a practitioner of Chinese martial arts. Some of these differences from other Western protagonists originated in the fact that he actually hailed from Boston, rather than the Old West.
Still, the character’s sophistication did little to mask his ruthless streak when it came to drawing his gun against one ofHave Love – Will Travel’s villains in a duel. Despite beinga mercenary who was paid to kill, Paladin had a strong sense of justice and would openly express his contempt for those he confronted during a gunslinging showdown.
He was played by an actor who deserves more recognition today as a great of the Western genre. Richard Boone had already cemented his status as a go-to actor in the Western genre years before he starred alongsideJohn Wayne inThe AlamoandBig Jake, but Paladin was the best part he ever played.
He Didn’t Look Or Act Anything Like A Conventional Hero
Richard Boone’s Paladin wasone of the first examples of a Western protagonist who was neither villain nor conventional hero. There’d been plenty of maverick heroes in the genre up to that point, but no one with quite so much ambiguity or complexity to their characters.
Paladin had the look of an anti-hero, with his piercing squint instilling fear into his duel opponents, and his upturned moustache and outlandish dress sense casting him as a complete outsider in a world of cowboys. He blazed a trail thatClint Eastwood’s Man with No Name, Franco Nero’s Django, and Jean-Louis Trintignant’s Silence, among others, would soon follow.
Have Love – Will Travelwas way ahead of its time in introducing such a character. For any fans of anti-heroes in the Western movie genre, this is the show to watch.
